Chapter Twenty-Six

I had blueberry pancakes waiting for Dani when she finally woke on Sunday morning. I had kept her awake long into the night, exploring her body while she "struggled" against her cuffs. By the end she was begging me to stop, her shirt rolled up around her shoulders and her shorts discarded on the floor.

I had brought her to orgasm at least three times, myself twice. We had eaten ice cream after that and cuddled - she hadn't wanted to talk much, and honestly neither had I. She had worn the cuffs all night, touching them from time to time while we snuggled.

She had enjoyed dipping a toe into my world. Just as much as I had hoped. Lauren had wanted so much pain, and had resented that I didn't want to do blood play or hot wax. Kailee had bratted and begged and dove so far into the Little world so quickly that there had been no exploration, no curiosity. She had been so greedy that there was no enjoyment for me.

So far, Dani was as perfect as I had dreamed. As perfect as my research had predicted.

"Good morning, princess," I called softly as she stepped into the kitchen, hair mussed and rubbing her eye with the back of one had, a big yawn issuing forth from her gaping mouth. Soft pink cuffs were still buckled around her wrists.

"If you're not careful," she teased, "I'm going to get used to you spoiling me."

"Sounds great," I smiled, dropping a plate of pancakes in front of her and drenching them in a Little-appropriate amount of syrup - entirely too much. She laughed with delight and picked up her fork as I washed the pan.

"So is this the way that Seth and Jessica just live?" she asked, mouth half-full of chewed breakfast. "She's like what, his slave?"

"No," I replied as I sat down beside her with my coffee, "their dynamic isn't as master and slave, though there are some people who live that way. Jess is more like a spoiled brat - I say that with love, she'd call herself the same - and Seth is her loving but stern Daddy."

"He treats her like a kid, like all the time?" Dani asked, syrup on her cheek as she stared at me, D-rings dangling on her cuffs. Watching her eat was delightful - watching her do most anything where she just got to be herself was enjoyable, she had this sense of wonder about her, like she took nothing at all for granted. It showed in her eyes and her smile, no 'adult' could enjoy a simple pancake the way she did. "And he likes that?"

"They both love it," I smiled. "She gets ample opportunity to enjoy cute things, and he has someone cute to snuggle." I hoped that Dani could see the parallels between Jess and herself, but that seemed unlikely - she had just dipped a toe into the pool of alternative love, she had just had her very first dominance and submission encounter. Even though she was very clever, I didn't expect her to have the self-awareness to realize that she could enjoy that same freedom that Jess did, if she could just surrender her adult self.

But we'd get there.

"That does sound pretty great," she admitted. My heart soared - maybe I was wrong, maybe she was already closer than I thought. She wasn't diving in, she wasn't greedily throwing away herself to change for me, but the idea of stretching her limits and learning new joys... "But doesn't that make sex kind of skeevy? Is he a pe- "

"Absolutely not," I cut her off gently but firmly, not even wanting to entertain the question. My elation evaporated in an instant, I hated that question even though it was understandable why vanillas made that erroneous connection. "They are both consenting adults and there's nothing wrong with their lifestyle. He cares for her, she cares for him, and they have a relatively healthy relationship... she just needs more friends, that's the biggest problem."

"Well, I think I'd like to be her friend," Dani smiled, "She's nice. So... he wants someone who likes cute things, huh? That sounds familiar." She leaned over toward me with a grin, and I couldn't help but wipe her face with a damp cloth I already had at the ready.

"Does it?" I feigned obliviousness, not wanting to hope.

"Are you hoping I'll be Jessica to your Seth?" she asked with a grin.

"Perhaps," I took her hand gently, holding it between both of mine. "But I'm more hoping you'll be Dani to my Vanessa." She blushed deeply, looking down and letting her hair fall around her face. I gently lifted her chin with a finger, smiling at her. "You like being my princess, don't you?"

"I do," her blush was still strong as she tried - barely - to look away. "But princesses don't get tied up, do they?"

Her question was barely a whisper. My answer was pushing her plate aside and hooking a finger through each of the D-rings on her cuffs, pulling her hands toward me and kissing her deeply.

"They do if they want it," I whispered in response.

"Okay yeah," Dani squirmed in place, the same little happy-dance she did with good food. "I think I understand why Jessica likes this sort of thing. Does she like these?" She wiggled her wrists, obviously not knowing the word.

"Cuffs," I offered, "And yes, she wears them quite a lot. Seth also asked me to help him pick out her collar, which she adores."

"Collar?" Dani echoed, her eyes widening slightly. "You mean like a dog?"

"Well," I smirked, "Jess' collar says 'Daddy's Girl' on it, so not quite the same... "

"If you had told me this stuff when we first met," Dani laughed, "I would have run for the hills."

"I know," I said, trying hard to keep the sadness from my voice.

"Do you want me to wear a collar? I don't know how I feel about that."

"No," I released the rings on her cuffs and held her hands gently between mine instead. "I'm honestly not that interested in the owner/pet sort of dynamic."

"What do you want?" Dani asked expectantly, staring directly into my eyes. She was open, this could be the moment. I could tell her everything, lay all the cards on the table - she was a Little at heart, it was so obvious. She was submissive in ways she didn't understand, she craved the attention a Little got.

"I want a princess," I said, chickening out - I couldn't afford to reveal my true desires, not yet. I didn't want her to bolt. "I want a girl who will let me dote on her, who gets everything she wants and gives everything she has in return. I don't want someone to struggle against me, I'm not looking for a girl to break. I want a princess who loves as much as I love."

"Wow," Dani exhaled, "That's... that's a lot."

"Yeah, I suppose it is," I sighed. "Well, we're on the subject... what do you want out of a relationship?"

"What?" Dani asked, seeming surprised. "What do you mean?"

"What are your goals? Your expectations? Your desires?" I asked, feeling nervous. This could be it - infatuation was nice, I adored Dani and to me the chase wasn't over yet, but I wasn't going to pursue her if I wasn't what she wanted... or at least close. It was extremely rare to find someone that matched you perfectly - there would always be little idiosyncrasies.

"I want... " she hesitated, looking uncertain. Her eyes wandered to the cuffs around her wrists. "I guess I've never really thought about it. You date people to find 'the one', right? I just want to find my special someone... "

"So tell me about your special someone then?" I prodded. It was quite possible that she was unused to setting real goals and expectations - in my experience, most people shied away from honest talk.

"Well, I want someone active who can keep up with me," she pondered aloud. It was much easier to think about likes and dislikes than compatibility and goals. "I like to go jogging and I love nature walks... and I need someone who likes games and knows how to have fun. Someone who isn't too serious."

"Someone who encourages you to feel cute, rather than serious and mature?" I prompted.

"Yes!" her eyes widened and she straightened in her seat. "Honestly, I didn't know how important that was until you showed me. I.. I was going to throw away Forrest!"

"Well we can't have that," I smiled, standing up. "My sweet princess, we're running low on pancake supplies. I'm going to go to the grocery store, do you need anything?"

"Um," Dani looked guilty, uncertain as I took the plate from in front of her. "Do you want some money to cover groceries? I feel guilty that you're doing so much for me."

"You're a friend," the word tasted like ash in my mouth, "who is in trouble - save your money, you have to replace a lot of stuff and we're in a period of inflated rent... just keep an eye out for specials, find a spot, and use some of the money you've been saving to get back on your feet. I promise you, I don't mind springing for a few extra groceries."

"Okay," she sounded uncertain. I stepped over to her after putting the plates in the sink, lifting her chin gently and kissing her on the forehead.

"Would my sweet princess be willing to do the dishes while I'm gone?" I smiled.

"Of course - it's the least I can do," she perked up a bit - she just needed to feel like she was contributing.

"Thank you. I'll be back soon, and then maybe we'll play some more?" I stroked her hair softly before stepping to the door, slipping on my shoes, grabbing my purse, and heading out. Out of habit, I checked my phone on the way down to the car.

There was a voicemail waiting, and a missed call from the number Aubrey had been texting from.

I slipped the phone back in my purse - there was no way I was dealing with that drama today, I had a princess to seduce.

* * *

I turned the music up a little louder as I danced around the living room - Mr. Blue Sky always made my heart sing and chased away the pouts. Daddy had kicked me out of the bathroom because I kept playing with his daddy-parts while he was trying to take a bath. His baths on Sunday were always too long, I much preferred his quick showers of the weekdays... although I tended to interrupt those too. I just couldn't keep my hands off of him - I had a habit of slipping into the shower and pressing myself to him, teasing him and taunting him until he pinned me against the wall.

But now the bathroom was locked and he was irritated because he got the floor all wet chasing me out... but that also meant I'd probably get a spanking when he was done, so it was still a win.

As the solo really got into swing, I shook my diapered butt around - I was just a little damp, the padding only slightly swollen around my nethers. I didn't want to be too wet - that would just make a spanking hurt more. I slipped on my cuffs as I danced around in nothing but my Daddy's Girl t-shirt, buckling them with a grin. Me putting on the cuffs was our very very overt signal that I was feeling frisky. He could still say no, he might be actually mad about the whole water-on-the-floor thing, he got really particular about things like that... but I was hoping it wouldn't be too big a deal.

I was in such a great, fun mood that when the TV started ringing the video call, I hit accept without even thinking about it, turning down the music. The remote to the TV was in my right hand, my phone controlling the music was in my left hand, and I was beyond happy.

"Hi Nessa!" I greeted the TV cheerily... only to see Dani staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at me.